Why Students Should Study Abroad

Landen is the Executive Producer for The Campus Ledger. He joined The Ledger in the fall semester of 2019. Landen joined the staff because he has always been interested in media and videography. Two of Landen’s favorite hobbies include recording his KU Basketball podcast – Inside the Paint – and watching as many sports as possible.

0
''

Transcription:

Landen Fields (Announcer)JCCC offers a lot of study abroad opportunities. Here are two faculty members who believe you should go on a study abroad trip.  

 John Harty: For the students, it’s definitely a great opportunity to see a different part of the world, see how people live their lives and understand that not everybody lives their lives the exact same way we do. We can learn from them and there are a plethora of ways that it opens up your view of the world. You really start to appreciate people from different countries, you really start to understand their points of view and it just broadens your horizons. It gives you opportunities you wouldn’t have had otherwise.  

Janette Jasperson: Your generation lives in a global world. I think the Corona virus now shows it. I mean, everybody is always going here and there and everywhere and money is going here and there and everywhere, the food we eat in our grocery store, most of it or a lot of it is not from the U.S. and so when you have a chance to study abroad, it kind of helps you see a little bit of that world and helps you not be so intimidated by that world to feel like it can be a positive thing and not a fearful thing for you. 

Announcer: Unfortunately, not all nations as we’d like them to be. So, what should students think if they’re afraid to travel outside the U.S.? 

Janette Jasperson: JCCC vets all of our programs. JCCC is very risk averse and so we are not ever going to send you if we don’t think you’ll be safe. So that’s number one. Number two is, if you haven’t travelled before and you’re a little uncomfortable, travel with our faculty. That’s why we have those trips: because they’ll be making all of the arrangements, looking out for you, you have that kind of safety net. So, that’s the second thing I would say. And the third thing is, beware of the news. Because, the fact that you and I are sitting here talking s very pleasant. This will not make the news. But, you know, if somebody sticks their head in my office and does something lethal and there’s blood on the walls, that might make the international headlines. So, the news, by definition, news is only blood, you know, only death. So, if all you’re hearing about other countries is the news, you’re getting a skewed perspective. 

Announcer: Studying abroad can be expensive, but there are many ways you can cut into the cost. 

Janette Jasperson: Well, the first thing you do is you can pick a shorter length trip, so, like, our faculty trips, we try to keep them a little under or a little over $3,000, right around there. A lot of us, if we plan ahead and save money, can do that and for our faculty trips, we have $500 scholarships. Now, for students who want to go a little longer than that, then you can go to three weeks in the summer, and you can go to Florence, Italy, for a little over $5,000. We have a $1,000 scholarship for that, and then there are some other options, especially if you’re on a Pell Grant. You can pick a country with better scholarship opportunities, Japan, for example, has better scholarships because, well, there’s just options, and the school itself in Japan will give you a full tuition scholarship if you apply and are accepted, you can apply for it. So, there’s those options. The length of the program, whether it’s a summer program, a faculty lab, which is about a week to ten days, or a whole semester, and then we have some scholarships available.  

Announcer: according to professor Hardy, here’s why you should study abroad. 

John Harty: It really does open up new opportunities in everyone’s life and it’s something I wish everyone would take advantage of. The office here is one of the best in the nation, so it’s a really great opportunity here at Johnson County Community College. I feel very fortunate to teach at a place like this that has such a robust study abroad office. 

AnnouncerIf you go to JCCC’s website, you can find more information under the study abroad page. For The Campus Ledger, I’m Landen Fields.

''

NO COMMENTS

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.